PAETEC Shareholders to Vote on Windstream Merger in Late October

PAETEC's (NAS: PAET) shareholders will be making their final decision to either approve or reject Windstream's (NAS: WIN) $2.3 billion acquisition of the CLEC at the end of October.

Windstream disclosed in a regulatory filing that the vote will take place on Oct. 27. But even if they do get shareholder approval, the deal still has to clear various state public service commissions (PSC) and get the FCC's blessing.

Of course, there are still a number of uncertainties surrounding the deal. It has come under fire from a group of shareholders who believe PAETEC did not get the best price for the company. And if the deal falls through, PAETEC would have to pay Windstream $40 million.

The Rochester, N.Y. community where PAETEC is based is also concerned how many jobs would be lost when the deal closes and whether Windstream will follow through with building a new downtown headquarters.

Speaking to a Rochester trade group late last week, PAETEC CEO and founder Arunas Chesonis said that the company's transition team is outlining what PAETEC workers will be retained and where they will be based.

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